Music programming languages list.

music_programming.md

Music programming languages list

Narrowing criteria

1. Modern and maintained
2. Open source
3. Multiplatform
4. Live coding support
5. Actual sound output (not MIDI-only)
6. Text-based
7. Not Java (sorry JSyn :P)

The list

In no particular order.

SuperCollider (GitHub)

• Features:
  • Language: sclang
    • Object-oriented functional language.
    • Message based (like Smalltalk) with C-like syntax.
  • IDE: yes
  • Multi-user: yes
  • Multi-device/output: multiple servers with multiple audio buses
  • Graphics: no (can be hacked in, but...)
  • Time paradigm: ahead-of-time scheduling, tasks
• Client-server architecture (which allows other languages to use it as a backend).
• My impressions:
  • Good:
    • It JustWorks™
  • Bad:
    • sclang sucks (very 90's) and has a lot of gotchas.
    • Synths have to be compiled and object-ified before being sent to scsynth, which introduces even more gotchas (e.g. numeric arguments get converted to a Controller class, which is not an integer anymore; same for arrays, which then can't be iterated over...)
  • Neutral:
    • DSP is based on UGens as building blocks, not actually programmable, which makes it more efficient but less baremetal-y.

SuperCollider frontends

Same idiosyncrasies as SuperCollider's platform, but different language interface and libraries.

Overtone (GitHub)

• Features:
  • Language: Clojure
  • IDE: no (but has text editor integration available)
  • Multi-user: yes
  • Multi-device/output: multiple servers with multiple audio buses
  • Graphics: yes (integration with Processing via Quil and GLSL shaders via Shadertone)
  • Time paradigm: ahead-of-time scheduling
• My impresssions:
  • Good:
    • Clojure rocks as a language.
    • More intuitive and expressive than sclang and its library.
  • Bad:
    • Clojure sucks as a platform. Setting up the environment is painful. Very painful.

research.md

Still researching

Languages I have to try

ChucK (GitHub)

• C-Like syntax
• Supported for Object-Oriented programming
• Time-based, concurrent programming model (they call it 'strongly-timed').
• Designed to be used for live 'on-the-fly' coding
• Third party plugins supported (called chugins)

Extempore (GitHub)

• Scheme-like.
• Supports both audio and graphics.
• Defines itself as a 'cyberphysical' programming environment.

Fluxus (GitHub)

• Racket based.
• Full-fledged environment.
• Defined as 'a 3D game engine for livecoding worlds into existence', though it supports sound too via Fluxa.
• Doesn't seem to be actively maintained (most recent release dates from April 2012).

Nyquist (SourceForge)

(Still researching...)

Csound (SourceForge)

• Based off of MUSIC-N language (the earliest computer music language)
• Orchestra / Score separation: Instruments are defined in the orchestra, notes are defined in the score
• Live coding support in Csound 6
• C API with many language bindings: C++, Python, Java, Lua, Haskell, Ruby, and others
• iOS / Android support: Sound apps can be built using Csound as a sound engine
• Oldest actively maintained music programming language

Tidal (GitHub, old website)

• (Still researching...)
• Haskell DSL
• Represents patterns as combinators operating over functions of time

Faust

• Functional language, similar to Haskell
• Doesn't produce audio itself, but instead generates C++ DSP code
• Exports to a variety of music languages including Supercollider, ChucK, Csound PureData, MaxMSP
• Can also build audio plugins including VST, AU, and LADSPA
• Faust2 branch can export C/C++/LLVM code
• Live coding can be done using FaustLive

SuperCollider frontends

Sonic Pi (GitHub)

• Ruby DSL
• IDE
• Built for Raspberry PI (but runs anywhere SuperCollider and Ruby are available).
• Designed to be suitable for teaching children. Teacher resources available (1 and 2).

Side tools

Pineal

• (Still researching...)
• Graphic live-coding on an audio stream.
• Hy lang.

Afterglow

• (Still researching...)
• Live coding light shows.
• Clojure.

To further research

• https://github.com/createuniverses/praxis
• http://charlie-roberts.com/gibber/about-gibber/
• https://github.com/LuaAV/LuaAV
• http://www.renickbell.net/conductive/doku.php/
• https://github.com/kylestetz/lissajous
• http://paulbatchelor.github.com/proj/sporth (https://paulbatchelor.github.io/proj/soundpipe.html)
• http://wavepot.com/ (https://github.com/wavepot)

I made some revisions to Csound + ChucK:
https://gist.github.com/PaulBatchelor/489b276d6a0443699fd8